BDCs demand $50,000 weekly forex sales

Bureaux De Change (BDC) operators have urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to increase the $15,000 weekly foreign exchange (forex) sales to each operator to $50,000.

The BDCs also asked the regulator to extend its occasional intervention in the foreign exchange market to reduce demand pressure at the retail end of the market.

Speaking under the aegis of Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), the BDCs lamented that while over 2000 operators have laboured to comply with the N35 million mandatory caution deposits, the $15,000 weekly sale to each BDCs by the CBN is inadequate to cover operating costs.

“Considering the difficulties that BDCs are currently facing, due to the volume of the weekly sales granted to BDCs as against the associated costs in the business, we are strongly suggesting that the CBN consider increasing the weekly sales to BDCs from $15,000 to $50,000, the Association said in an appeal letter to the CBN Governor. Making a case for extension of CBN forex intervention to BDCs, the Association said,” it said.

The association also appealed to the apex bank to reduce the mandatory caution deposit to N15 million from N35 million, to free up cash for BDCs to meet day-to-day operations.

“After the expiration of the deadline for the payment of the increased caution fee of N35million, we noticed that a good number of Bureau de Change Operators could no longer conveniently carry out their weekly trading due to lack of cash.

“To avoid the possibility of such BDCs closing shop even after having made the effort to pay their caution fees, we are sincerely pleading that the Central Bank should consider the possibility of reviewing the caution fee from N35million to N15million in order to financially empower the BDCs to carry on their weekly trading”, it said.